Winter Mornings are for Cuddles
by Kjersti Nohr
Summary: When winter mornings arrive at your doorstep, the warmth of a loved one beckons—and cuddles ensue. [Established Redrom JohnKat]


Winter mornings are for cuddles

John softly murmured as he slowly rose from sleep—his eyes felt heavy and his body was still too lax to bother much where movement was concerned. Gradually though, he managed to open his eyes—allowing himself some time to register his surroundings. He wasn't in his bedroom; he was in the living room. The lights from the hallway were still on (dim as they were), and the television continued its endless idle-screen loop—the icon reading 'no disc' was essentially burned permanently into the plasma screen at this point. Just bellow it; a horridness mess of DVD cases lay idly about the floor—a wide range of both the most trite action films and clichéd romance movies ever to grace cinematography, were among the collection. On the elongated coffee table that was adjacent to him, was a fine mess of scattered dishes and emptied food packets. But what was perhaps the most notable, was the warm bundle of blissfully-sleeping-Troll that lay cuddled in his lap. John sighed contently—a warm smile adorning his features—as he recalled the events of the night before.

It had been an unfortunate culture shock (for both Karkat and the other Trolls respectively), when they were first introduced to the changing seasons. The frosty weather wasn't something the alien species had been accustomed to on their home planet, after all. And they were more then disgruntled when they were informed that the chilling atmosphere was only an initiation into the winter months that were soon to follow. So evidently, Karkat had insisted they spend their weekly date-nights indoors from that moment on—or for as long as the 'fucking frostbitten portion of your Human sweep' lasted—as the Troll had so graciously put it. John had of course, cheerfully giggled and gladly complied. A little old-fashioned movie night—where they could cuddle whilst gouging themselves on more food than their stomachs appreciated—was more than welcomed. Though evidently; it would have seemed the two of them had unconsciously nodded off to sleep the night before, whilst still lying contently in one another's arms.  
At this point, John lolled his head to the side to take a glance at the clock mounted on the wall behind him—whilst being extra careful as not to move too much. The last thing he wanted was to awake the boy nestled in his embrace.

The clock read: 10:11am

_Whoops_.

Now, they _may_ have slept in… (Just a tad bit).

John inwardly sighed. Lowering his gaze, he caught sight of the calendar that hung just below. His line of sight trailed the row of crossed-off boxes of days' gone by, until he reached one that informed him that it was currently the fifteenth of March—a Saturday. The allocated box was also completely barren; suggesting he had made no prior arraignments for that day.

Perfect.

Feeling slightly more relaxed, John returned his gaze to the adorable grey-skinned alien that still remained blissfully asleep. Karkat had his head resting on the adolescents' chest; with a single arm wrapped loosing around his waist—the other placed curled-up beside his own check. His facial features were softer and more relaxed then for when he was awake—during which time he perpetually put as much effort as possible into maintaining his trademark 'disgruntled scowl'. Though for now, his lips were neither pouted nor tooth-bitten, and his red-speckled pupils remained hidden behind shut eye-lids—all of which was cutely framed by messy wisps of black bed-hair. That as of presently, John was delightfully running his hands through.

Slowly and affectionately, John guided his fingertips through the thick locks; he curled ringlets around his digits—combed his fingers through the knotted hairs at the back of his head, and patted him tenderly in the space between his two nubby-horns. Suddenly a faint murmur reached Johns ears—as the Troll in his arms began to stir. The Human boy smiled warmly downward toward the sleepy Troll, as his eyes slowly fluttered open—open, but still half-lidded—like he was only on the verge of total awareness. Still unfocused and sleepy, the Troll drowsily raised his gaze by pivoting his profile from the cheek that rested on Humans' chest. Not very keen on parting with any physical contact they had already established, so it seemed. His features were still lax, but he didn't care much for it. He simply uncurled his fist from beside his cheek, and brought it up to Johns' bangs—curling them around his clawed digits with relaxed comfort.  
Johns' warm smile turned into a goofy grin as Karkat played idly with his hair. He could tell the Troll was still only half-awake, so leaning forward—allowing the Trolls' palm to come around and rest on the side of his head—John placed a tender kiss on the Trolls forehead and whispered, "Go back to sleep, you goofus."

Karkat didn't reply verbally. He simply lowered his gaze and leaned forward himself—this time, settling himself comfortably between the nook of the Humans neck. John could feel the Trolls' eyes begin to flutter close against the skin of his neck. His breathing was steady and soothing, and content hums reminiscent of purrs emanated from his throat.

Now, it would have been a dire _understatement_ to say that Karkats' complacency was almost unheard of—in fact, the cantankerous Troll consciously denied himself of such emotions on a regular basis. But of course, the boy's ill-temper was not everlasting. (Those of whom did not know him personally of course) wouldn't have likely guessed from his disposition alone—but Karkat was a sucker for cheesy romance clichés. So while a marathon of tacky romcons may have left John wanting to gag himself; _Karkat_ on the other hand, was feeling quite content and particularly affectionate. John had even managed to slip through a shy pet-name every so often, without as much as a scowl from its recipient.

Honestly, it was actually rather frightening to see the Troll so tranquil. But the Human boy took not a moment of it for granted. John continued to stroke lovingly through Karkats' messy locks—progressively making his way towards the base of the Trolls' nubby-horns. Upon contact, said Trolls' ears perked, and he shifted slightly in his matesprites' hold. With a cheeky grin curling upon his lips, John nuzzled closer—slowly massaging a single candy-corn coloured numb between his fingers and thumb. The reaction was almost immediate; the Troll became exceedingly more animated and vocal.

By this point, Karkat could no longer hide the perfectly articulated purrs that were being forced from within him. He had long since ceased damming the Humans very existence for the discovery of such whims—and had just come to terms with his matesprites' everlasting fetish for Troll horns and meow-beast noises. And although he was dying of shame inside, for the actions that soon followed—he by no means fought back the urge to wiggle closer into the Humans calming touch and demand for attention. The warmth it gave him—the security—only such sentiments could be felt from someone whom he truly believed to pity him. The fear of venerability of his current state had no place within his conscience at the present time—for whilst he remained lax and weary within the Humans arms—he also felt safe. Safe in the knowledge that he was in the arms of someone whom truly—in the Human sense of the word—loved him.

Um, a quick note regarding Trolls' horns—I honestly prefer the idea of them be calming and relaxing when rubbed as appose to sexually stimulating. But that's just my preferred head cannon (not that there is anything wrong with the latter of course), so if that particular part was disappointing for some, I apologies.

Thank you for taking the time to read my little JohnKat indulgence, I hope you have enjoyed, and continue to enjoy the remainder of you day, goodbye~ (:B


End file.
